A Syrian court held its first hearing on Sunday in the trial of ousted president Bashar al-Assad and senior officials from his former government, according to reports from France 24.
Assad and his brother, Maher al-Assad, are currently being tried in absentia after fleeing the country. However, former security official Atif Najib appeared in court in Damascus in handcuffs.
Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan opened the session by declaring, "Today we begin the first trials of transitional justice in Syria. This includes a defendant in custody, present in the dock, as well as defendants who have fled justice."
Najib, who was arrested in January 2025 following the collapse of the Assad administration, appeared in court wearing a striped prison jersey. He previously led Syria's political security branch in the southern province of Daraa.
Prosecutors accuse Najib of leading a broad campaign of repression and arrests in the region where the 2011 Syrian uprising first began. A judicial source told AFP that these proceedings are part of the initial preparations for the trials of Assad, his brother, and other prominent figures.
Path to accountability
Syria's 13-year civil war resulted in the deaths of more than 500,000 people and the displacement of millions. The conflict also left tens of thousands of individuals disappeared within the nation's prison system.
New Syrian authorities have pledged to provide accountability for atrocities committed during the Assad era. On Sunday, President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated on X that justice remains "a major goal that the state and its institutions strive to achieve."
The Sunday session focused on preparatory administrative and legal procedures. The court has scheduled a second hearing for May 10.
Future in-person trials are expected to include Wassim al-Assad, another relative of the former president, as well as former grand mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun. Other military and security officials arrested by the new authorities are also slated for trial.
Assad fled to Moscow in December 2024 as Islamist-led forces advanced on Damascus. He reportedly left with only a few confidants, abandoning many senior officials who either fled abroad or sought refuge in the coastal regions.
